Adrian Mayor Jim Berryman reiterated the themes of his Monday mayoral address when he spoke Thursday to members of the Adrian Area Chamber of Commerce at their Adrian in the A.M. meeting at the Lenawee Country Club.

Adrian Acting City Administrator Shane Horn also addressed the group.

“In my opinion, we’re a college town,” Berryman told the group, citing the 5,000-plus students at the city’s three colleges, the colleges’ combined 2,212 jobs, $44 million annual payrolls and $87.4 million in recent construction.

As he did Monday, Berryman said the city should emulate Adrian College and Siena Heights University, whose leaders, he said, had developed visions, committed to those visions and invested millions of dollars to make them happen.

“We need to make investments and you have to be part of it,” Berryman told the group.

Berryman again said the city needs to improve its central business district, and he restated his proposal to raise $500,000 from corporations, individuals and government for an endowment for that purpose.

Answering questions from the audience, Berryman said:

— The city “ought to do a blue ribbon committee” to help evaluate Bohn Pool and decide about its future or any possible replacement. A proposal to spend $23,000 for an out-of-town group to do an aquatic park feasibility study was turned down by the Adrian City Commission on Feb. 17.

— The city can continue to “make improvements” to the sign ordinance approved by the city commission in August.

— He is not giving up on attracting manufacturing to the city.

— His proposed endowment for improving the central business district would be created through the Adrian Downtown Development Authority, which would use the money to attract entrepreneurs to the downtown.

Responding to the same question about downtown, Horn said attracting retail businesses and rehabilitating buildings are priorities.